The New Orleans Creoles were a Negro league baseball team based in New Orleans , Louisiana , from at least 1945 until at least 1952. The team was a member of the second Negro Southern League from 1947 to 1948 and 1950 to 1951, and a member of the Negro Texas League for the 1949 season. They played at Pelican Stadium and were known for hiring women players and coaches. Second baseman Toni Stone —the first of three women to play professional baseball full-time in the previously all-male Negro leagues—played for the Creoles from 1949 to 1952, prior to her time on the Kansas City Monarchs .
19-660: The New Orleans Creoles were owned and promoted by Allan Page (or Allen Page). The team was managed by Wesley Barrow during the 1949 and 1950 seasons. Baseball historian Larry Lester has referred to the New Orleans Creoles as "a very good semi-pro team." It played exhibition games against teams from the Negro American League , including the Kansas City Monarchs . The Creoles were known for hiring women players and coaches. Georgia Williams pitched for
38-650: A headstone in 2015. In 1968, Pontchartrain Park in New Orleans was renamed after Barrow. It was demolished in 2011 following damage from Hurricane Katrina . A new ballpark was erected on the same site, and today's Wesley Barrow Stadium has served as the home of Louisiana high school tournaments, several local college teams, and the Major League Baseball Urban Youth Academy . Portland Rosebuds (baseball) The Portland Rosebuds , sometimes called
57-635: The Chattanooga Black Lookouts of the Negro Southern League, where another rookie pitcher named Satchel Paige was among his teammates. He would team up with Paige again briefly on the legendary 1934 Pittsburgh Crawfords , appearing in relief against brothers Dizzy and Daffy Dean as part of their barnstorming tour. He moved back to New Orleans and later joined the New Orleans Black Pelicans in 1939. In 1943, he made his way to
76-545: The Cleveland Buckeyes in 1943 as a coach and backup catcher. In 1945, he joined the Harlem Globetrotters, a barnstorming team. From 1940 to 1941, Barrow managed the independent Algiers Giants, a former Negro Southern League team located on the west side of New Orleans. In 1945, Barrow was tapped to manage the New Orleans Black Pelicans of the Negro Southern League. Barrow moved to Tennessee in 1946 and managed
95-717: The Nashville Cubs in the second half of the season, leading them to a first place finish and a playoff appearance. He was named to the Eastern team's coaching staff for the Negro Southern League's East-South All Star Game that year. The brainchild of Abe Saperstein, the West Coast Negro Baseball Association opened the season in 1946 with six teams in Pacific Coast League cities. The Portland Rosebuds , owned by track and field legend Jesse Owens , raised
114-806: The Portland Roses, were a baseball team owned by Jesse Owens . The Rosebuds were part of the West Coast Baseball Association , a Negro league headed by Abe Saperstein , the owner of the Harlem Globetrotters . The Rosebuds played the Seattle Steelheads on their opening day, May 12, 1946, at Dudley Field in El Paso, Texas . They followed opening day with two more days of games in El Paso and one in nearby Ciudad Juárez . The league
133-485: The Richmond Afro-American reported that Barrow looked "decidedly amateurish" when pulling infielder Junior Gilliam mid-game following a fielding error. A month later, Barrow was fined an undisclosed amount by Greene for failing to find two players "for not running out taps." By the end of July, Barrow was relieved of his post by Greene. From 1949-1950, he played at catcher and managed the New Orleans Creoles of
152-597: The Texas Negro League alongside female player Toni Stone. Following the success of western Canada tours by his Creoles, Barrow ventured northwest to Winnipeg, Manitoba to manage the integrated Elmwood Giants of the Manitoba-Dakota League . He was joined on the Giants by several Negro League stars, but the team finished in last place and more than 11 games out of first. After losing 12 of their first 14, Barrow
171-621: The curtain on the season with Barrow as skipper and starting pitcher. Within 2 months, the Rosebuds and the league disbanded. Following a third place finish in 1946, the Negro National League's Baltimore Elite Giants hired Barrow as manager "in their overall plan of building a playoff contender in 1947." A favorite of owner Tom Wilson who passed away mid-season, Barrow quickly fell out of favor with Wilson's business partner and new owner Vernon Greene. The Black press pulled no punches, as
190-489: The end of June, the Rosebuds were in second place in the league. None of the players on the team would go on to play in Major League Baseball . It was previously announced that The West Coast Baseball Association would play a full 110-game schedule. However, despite having a strong standing in the league, attendance and news coverage for games suffered. The West Coast Baseball Association, along with
209-601: The finest semi-pro teams in Louisiana." He would hold that post and receive mentions in the press through May 1965, just months before his death. Barrow died of an apparent heart attack in Gretna, LA shortly after visiting friends on Christmas Eve, 1965. He was buried in an unmarked grave at New Hope Baptist Church Cemetery in Gretna. Efforts by journalist Ryan Whirty and former player Milton Crosby led to Barrow's grave finally receiving
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#1732872846548228-546: The importance of education being a ticket to a better life. The Portland Rosebuds played their home games at Vaughn Street Park , home stadium of the local Portland Beavers . Negro Southern League veteran Wesley Barrow was at the helm as manager. On June 4, 1946, the Portland Rosebuds played their first home game at Vaughn Street Park against the Los Angeles White Sox. There were 1,500 fans in attendance. By
247-574: The league included the Oakland Larks , San Francisco Sea Lions , San Diego Tigers , and the Los Angeles White Sox . The West Coast Baseball League was created as result of black players being banned from organized leagues. It was one of the last negro leagues to exist and the only one on the West Coast. Abe Saperstein, who famously founded the Harlem Globetrotters, served as the president of
266-487: The league. Jesse Owens was named vice president of the league. The Portland Rosebuds made their debut in El Paso, Texas, on May 12, 1946, against the Seattle Steelheads. There were a total of three West Coast Baseball League games played in El Paso. Owens played a major role in the promotion of these games and was said to have run against racehorses in between double headers. He also used these appearances to verbalize
285-545: The team for the 1948 and 1949 seasons, respectively. This article about a baseball team in Louisiana is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This New Orleans , Louisiana –related article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This Negro league baseball team article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Wesley Barrow As manager As coach Wesley "Big Train" Barrow (November 13, 1900 – December 24, 1965)
304-441: The team in 1945. Lucille Bland of Dillard University served as the team's third base coach in 1947. Toni Stone was hired as a second baseman in 1949. Fabiola Wilson of Xavier University of Louisiana and Gloria Dymond (also known as Lucille Gloria Dymond) of Southern University are listed as outfielders on the team's 1948–1949 roster. Notable male Creoles players include Milt Smith and Gene Bremer , who played on
323-665: Was an American Negro league player and manager in the 1940s who was once regarded as "one of the best developers of Negro talent in the South." Wesley Barrow, Jr. was born on November 13, 1900, in West Baton Rough Parish, Louisiana to sharecroppers Wesley, Sr. and Nancie. Finishing school at the 6th grade, Barrow plied his trade as a part time catcher as a young man on various semi-pro and barnstorming teams beginning in 1920. He married his wife Mary in 1924 and settled in New Orleans. In 1926, Barrow made his professional debut with
342-550: Was disbanded after only two months. The Portland Rosebuds were a part of an all-black baseball league, the West Coast Baseball Association. Previously in 1936, Jesse Owens had made an attempt at promoting another negro league team, but was unsuccessful. When Owens helped start the West Coast Baseball League in 1946, his team, the Portland Rosebuds, was one of six teams in the league. Other teams in
361-638: Was replaced by Ted Radcliffe . Following his brief stint in Canada, Barrow returned to the Black Pelicans from 1952-53. With Barrow at the helm, the Detroit-New Orleans Stars competed in the Negro American League in 1960, by now considered a minor league. Though the Negro American League folded in 1961, Barrow stayed in baseball, piloting the independent Gretna Jax Sports, billed as "one of
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